San Antonio Chef David Gilbert is releasing a new book titled "Kitchen Vagabond: A Journey Cooking and Eating Beyond the Kitchen."

San Antonio Chef David Gilbert is releasing a new book titled "Kitchen Vagabond: A Journey Cooking and Eating Beyond the Kitchen."

Photo: Courtesy John Herdman

Image 2 of 4

San Antonio Chef David Gilbert is releasing a new book titled "Kitchen Vagabond: A Journey Cooking and Eating Beyond the Kitchen."

San Antonio Chef David Gilbert is releasing a new book titled "Kitchen Vagabond: A Journey Cooking and Eating Beyond the Kitchen."

Image 3 of 4

Sustenio's Chef David Gilbert shows off a CVAP machine at the restaurant located at the Elian Hotel, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.

Sustenio's Chef David Gilbert shows off a CVAP machine at the restaurant located at the Elian Hotel, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.

Photo: Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News

Image 4 of 4

A taste for life beyond the kitchen

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

Favorite foods can evoke strong memories. For chef David Gilbert, it's a green papaya salad that he enjoyed in Phuket, Thailand. But like most chefs, favorite foods can change with one bite of the next great meal.

The evolving answer to the question, “What is your favorite dish?” is the subject of his first book, “Kitchen Vagabond: A Journey Cooking and Eating Beyond the Kitchen” (Infinity Publishing, $27.95). It's a memoir of his travels and the impact they've had on his career.

“If we are interested and attentive, we cannot separate a dish from the people, places and events that create the sensory experience of its taste,” he writes in the book's introduction.

The executive chef at Sustenio at Éilan Hotel Resort & Spa, 17103 La Cantera Parkway, Gilbert's food career has been a journey that's taken him to Amsterdam, Belize, China, St. Thomas and Thailand, among other places — not too shabby for a career that started with handing out samples for Chick-fil-A at the mall food court when he was a teen.

While writing the memoir, Gilbert traced his food roots to his grandfather, a Russian immigrant who owned a butcher shop in Boston. That's where Gilbert's father, the oldest of three, and his siblings grew up working in the family business.

“Writing this book was almost a chance to go back in time,” Gilbert says.

More Information

“Kitchen Vagabond”

Chef/author David Gilbert's book ($27.95 hardback, $17.95 paperback) is available via online retail sites and buybooksontheweb.com. The e-book ($9.99) will be available this week.

Gilbert will do a cooking demonstration at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 13 at the Pearl Farmers Market, followed by a book signing.

A pop-up dinner by Gilbert is planned for an upcoming Monday night at the Monterey, 1127 S. Saint Mary's St.

His parents were not thrilled at first with his pursuit of a culinary career, something he knew he wanted to do at age 9 after sneaking peeks at his mother's copy of “The Joy of Cooking” and duplicating his father's cheese omelet.

But they've always supported him and pushed him to focus and give his best, which led Gilbert to a culinary associate's degree and a bachelor's degree in accounting.

“I've always been good at math,” he says, adding that he made A's in art and math, but was borderline passing in other subjects. And he was a constant doodler, which is evident by his mind maps that trace his food journeys in the book.

He maintained status on the dean's list while at Johnson & Wales University and was recommended for an international apprenticeship with chef Edwin Katz at the Michelin-rated Restaurant Vermeer in Amsterdam. Countless hours of work gave him confidence and earned him respect in the kitchen. One night during dinner service, chef Katz rewarded him with three weeks to travel and eat his way through Europe at the end of his apprenticeship.

“The chef sent me off with an unspoken message, intentional or not. I realized that night that food goes far beyond the kitchen,” Gilbert writes.

That became a recurring theme of his development as a chef, as well as a steppingstone to his personal milestones of learning discipline, focus, dedication and how to be a leader and earn respect in the kitchen, as well as navigate political pitfalls.

His career has included positions at the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead, Atlanta; the Ritz-Carlton in St. Thomas; The Orient Express at The Inn at Perry Cabin in Maryland, where he started buying local and featured a farmers market menu; Eau Bistro; and the Beverly Hills Hotel, where he served food for 750 at the Golden Globes' Miramax party.

Among his accolades, he was named a Rising Star by StarChefs.com in 2007, and he represented the United States at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.

That was soon after he took a month's hiatus in 2009 to backpack through Thailand and rethink food. He started a blog, beyondthekitchen.com, as a way to stay in touch with his mother when he wasn't able to call every day. It evolved into writing his book, which begins and ends with that vivid memory of an incredible green papaya salad.

“I am wondering how I can re-create this dish? Manipulate it? Bend the authentic rules and somehow maintain the integrity? How can I make the necessary changes for a modern diner?” Gilbert asks in the book.

His travels and evolution through food have led him to where he is now — here, where he recently served the green papaya salad during a San Antonio Chef Coalition dinner in front of the Alamo.

At the dinner, Gilbert was beaming as he chopped the papaya with a sharp blade, just as he had seen the street vendor do in Thailand.

He says, “For the first time in a long time, I'm happy to be where I am.”